Ring binders

ABSTRACT

A folder comprising an upper cover for a ring binder has a lip 13 which is arranged to fit into a normal ring binder press. The lip and a bundle of sheets can then be formed with slots to receive the ring binder in conventional manner. The lower cover 10 has a fold line 14 to allow it to remain free of the press and to wrap around the ring binder and cover the bundle of sheets. The folder itself has no holes in it and can be formed of virtually any material.

The invention relates to ring binders and the like.

Ring binders are commonly used in offices and elsewhere for use inpamphlets, booklets, bundles of papers and so on. A bundle of pages isheld together at its one side by plastic rings which form a hinge sothat the pages can be turned one at a time about the hinge.

Ring binders which are generally available are normally inserted using amanually operated press into which the one sides of the pages areinserted and aligned together as a bundle. The press grips the pages andwhen operated punches holes along and adjacent the one side foraccommodating the plastic rings. The press is then opened and theplastic rings, normally held together by an integrally formed linkingmember, are inserted into the punched out holes.

So called "ring binders" may also use a spiral wire hinge or a simpleclamping arrangement which holds the one sides of the pages together.Such a clamping arrangement can consist of a strip of plastic at eachside of the bundle which extend adjacent and along the one side of thepages. The strips are held together by rivets or other connectors whichpass through apertures in the pages normally formed by the press.

In this specification we therefore use the term "ring binder" to meanall forms for binding of bundles of sheets of material (usually paper orplastic) to keep them together along one side. The sheets are held byplastic or metal pieces which pass through holes in the one sides of thesheets and allow the sheets to be turned in a manner similar to thepages of a book.

At present ring binders suffer from the disadvantages that the outerappearance cannot be particularly aesthetic, that the rings (or similar)can easily catch against and engage each other, from one ring binder toanother, and that other objects and articles in a general officeenvironment, for example, can become easily entwined with the exposedring binder.

It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least reduce thisproblem by providing a convenient folder or outer cover for a ringbinder.

According to the invention there is provided a folder comprising anupper cover and a lower cover for a ring binder arranged to surround thering binder and to lie over an upper and lower face of a bundle ofsheets of material held by the ring binder, in which the lower cover hasa lip at one side which extends towards the ring binder and away fromwhich the lower cover is arranged to fold to allow the lip to enter abinding press and be punched through in use with the rest of the sheets.

The folder may extend to cover the whole of the upper and lower surfaceand the lip provided on a sheet of material fixed over an inside of thelower cover except for a small region to form the lip. Alternatively,the lip may be formed by one side of a strip of material fixed alongadjacent its other side to the inside of the lower cover.

A narrow strip of material may be attached centrally where the upper andlower cover meet to the inside of the folder to extend in use along theoutside of the ring binder. The strip of material may have an exposedsticky surface which sticks to the ring binder to hold the folderagainst the ring binder.

A folder for a ring binder will now be described by way of example withreference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an inside plan view of the folder;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the folder;

FIG. 3 is a side view the folder enclosing a bundle of pages; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged isometric partial view of a ring binder.

Referring to the drawing, the folder has a lower cover 10 (whichnormally forms the back of a bound bundle of pages) and an upper cover11. The lower cover 10 has a sheet of cardboard 12 stuck to its innersurface except along one end where, as shown in FIG. 2, it forms a lip13 which extends beyond a fold line 14 of the lower cover. A narrowstrip of double sided sticky tape 15 is attached to the inside of thefolder to lie in use opposite a ring binder 16 (which has conventionalconfiguration best shown in FIG. 4). Normally, the folder is made andsupplied with a non-sticky cover over the tape 15 which is removed onlywhen the folder is first fitted around a bundle of pages (as shown inFIG. 3).

In use, a bundle of papers are placed on top of the lower cover 10 andaligned along their one sides with the edge of the lip 13. The lowercover 10 is folded back about the fold line 14 to allow the lip and thebundle of papers to enter the jaws of a ring binder press and be punchedthrough to provide holes for the ring binder 16. Such an operation is initself well-known, as well as then fitting the ring binder. The uppercover 12 is then placed over the upper face of the bundle to surroundthe ring binder 16. The strip 15 contacts the outer surface of the ringbinder and holds the folder in contact therewith.

Normally, the lower cover 10 of the folder extends in use to cover overthe whole of the lower surface of the bundle of pages. However, thefolder could be formed to extend over only a part of that surface. Insuch a case, the lower cover 10 is stuck or otherwise attached to thecardboard 12 along and behind the lip 13. In other words, the lowercover could extend only so far as is required to form a suitable secureattachment to the cardboard 12, but allowing the lip 13 to be free tofit a ring binding press as required.

In an alternative arrangement, the lip 13 is formed by a relativelynarrow strip of material attached to a lower cover 10, which cover thenextends as shown or at least far enough to form a rear or bottom coverfor the bundle of sheets. This narrow strip is then fixed along adjacentone of its edges and is positioned so that its other edge provides thelip 13.

A wide range of materials can be used for the folder, the onlyrestriction is that whatever material is provided to form the lip mustbe suitable to have holes or slots punched in it by the ring binderpress and not to fracture or break up as a result of having such holespunched out. Generally stated, the folders can therefore be provided inmaterials of wide choice to satisfy both functions and aesthetics.Importantly, when the folders are in use to cover the ring binder andmake up files, pamphlets or whatever, these articles can be moreattractive visually, easier to handle and to stack, and the rings areprevented from catching each other or other items or articles on a desktop, for example.

It will be appreciated that because the described folders, which formsthe outer cover of the bundle of papers are not holed, as would be thecase in the prior art, the ring bound bundles is also more securely andeffectively enclosed.

I claim:
 1. A folder for a ring binder for use in combination with abinding press for binding a bundle of sheets of material, comprising:anupper cover and a lower cover arranged to surround said ring binder andto lie over an upper and lower face respectively of said bundle ofsheets of material within said ring binder; a protruding lip memberextending laterally across and anchored to said lower cover adjacentsaid ring binder, said lower cover arranged to fold towards said ringbinder to allow an edge of said protruding lip member to enter saidbinding press and align with edges of said sheets of material, said edgeof said protruding lip punchable through said sheets by said bindingpress without said folder fitted to surround said bundle.
 2. A folderaccording to claim 1, in which said folder covers the entire surface ofsaid upper and lower faces; and said lip member is an edge of a sheet ofmaterial fixed over a substantial area of an inside surface of saidlower cover.
 3. A folder according to claim 1, in which a narrow stripof material extends laterally across an inside surface of said folderopposite said ring binder.
 4. A folder according to claim 3, in whichsaid strip of material has an exposed sticky surface which sticks tosaid ring binder in use to hold said folder against said ring binder.